The Gift of Sofi

Sofi has been in our hearts for almost four years, but now she has been in our arms for 4 weeks.

Just four weeks
Seems like a blink
Only a moment

But she is so perfectly ours.

I can't even imagine a moment without her.

The video linked below is a glimpse of the precious time we have had, but speaks even more.

Sofi Shu, you are priceless.

Sofi Shu, you are so beautiful.

Sofi Shu, you are a child of God.

Sofi Shu, we will help you find your wings.

Each of our children is the most priceless and perfect gift from a great and loving God.
We are thankful beyond words.
May they each find their identity and worth in Christ and choose Him.  Amen.

Video:  The Gift of Sofi

------------------
Our previous videos of preparing for Sofi:
One Step Closer - First Thousand Years
Thousand More

Sofi's Family

Family.

Family is such a beautiful thing.

God designed it, and we were made for it.

Family is why we are on this journey,

and family is helping us make it through.

I am so thankful for all the family that surrounds me.

I have my family - family.

My church family.

My Central family.

My Woodlawn family.

My friends - who - never - leave - me family.

It's really quite outrageous.

Everyone should experience love like this.

#glimpsesofheaven

The word "family" speaks so much love and hope.

The word "orphan" splits me to the core.

I struggle to type it.

I want so badly to thank all my family who give so much.

So much has been given and shared and sacrificed on behalf of Sofi and our family.

There are no words for the love we have received.

I want to reciprocate.

I want each person to somehow feel the depth of their impact, but nothing is adequate.

I pray deeply for God to pour blessings into your lives; for you to know our gratitude.

It's not easy to receive.

I am so humbled by the level of generosity I have experienced over the last few years.

Just the last few weeks and days have overwhelmed me.

I love my family.

I am deeply moved by your love for God, displayed in such beautiful kindness.

Precious donations

T-shirts and jewelry

Little lambs and clothes

Anonymous packages

Surprise shower

Money tree gifts

Loving scriptures

Texts and comments

Hugs and smiles

Substitutes and extra jobs

Plane ride games

and PRAYERS

Thank you for showing us the love of God!

You are Sofi's family.

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.  - 1 John 4:12

Each Breath

Intense.
This adoption process.
And the intensity grows in each step.
All parents understand the weight of a life that is dependent on you.  You want to give them your all and not miss a moment of need.
That weight is indescribable as we work to get to our little Sofi.
She is mine, but she is out of my reach.

We have constantly given these anxieties to God  (just as we do for our other kids), but the frequency of those requests has been a bit outrageous in the last weeks.
I'm thankful my God can handle it all!!
God has been so present and so real that I really cannot explain how His presence has felt.  I have needed him in a special way, and He has met every need in every moment.
He has whispered promises to me that have sustained me.

I have been so completely confident in God's sovereignty.  He has proven over and over His control over the timing and details in this adoption, but anxiety is real.
I have literally prayed for breath.
I pray, and God answers.

I have sung Great Are you Lord so many times this week.  The words are just beautiful.
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise


"Great Are You Lord" (excerpt)

You give life, You are love
You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore
Every heart that is broken

Great are You, Lord

It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
To You only

All the earth will shout
Your praise
Our hearts will cry
These bones will sing
Great are You, Lord

It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It's Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
To You only

I have offered God praise using the very breath He has given.
He provides and I return it back to Him.  He is so worthy.

This morning at church, the worship team (which leads beautiful, Spirit-filled worship) included this song. I immediately felt God's presence as He spoke so clearly about all those prayers He heard this week.  I was praising Him and thanking Him, and then that song washed over me.

I feel God in each moment and each breath.
If He is sustaining me, then how much more is He caring for His sweet child, Sofi.
I can put Sofi, Luke, Kate, and Drew in His hands.
What an awesome God!!
He is a God who gives us each breath.

___________________________________
We are at the best part of our adoption journey!
If you want to follow our trip to China, you can join our FB group.
Just click here to join, or you can find a link on my FB page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1779644752303183/?ref=bookmarks

The Countdown: Ready for Forever!

We are officially in travel countdown.  Today marked 12 days until we fly to China!

Today was another miracle.
Travel Approval from China can be a few days or a few weeks.  Today was our deadline to travel in November, and we were approved in 4 days.
So thankful!!!

God has proven His love and sovereignty over and over.

My mind scrolls videos and projects, and it helps me to get them out.

Ten days before we found our sweet Sofi I posted a video of our waiting in this post.

Now - two months later - 12 days from travel - the sequel: 
Thousand More

We are so ready for forever with our beautiful Sofi!

No Guts, His Glory

My mind is in a full spin cycle.
Not a joke.
So many details and to-do lists, but no brain to help me.
My nerves are frazzled, and sometimes I almost can't breathe.
Then I pray.
Five minutes later, I'm praying it again.

This entire journey has been built on faith.
God has proven His sovereignty over and over.
We said yes, and then hoped for things that didn't always go as we thought.
But we have been confident in what God was doing all along. 
It's been beautiful to discover some of the hidden miracles.
But, it's also been hard.  It's hard to wait for those things.
It's hard to wait and know Sofi waits alone.


I almost didn't type that sentence.


Sofi has been alone, but that is not God's will.
God has changed that.

That's why we are here.  That's why we have waited.
That's why my mind spins.
None of this makes sense. 
No one should be alone.

Sofi, we are coming!

I pray - as I have for the last 3 1/2 years - that her heart would know love even before we bring it.
Sofi is ours, but first she is God's.
Drew is God's.
Kate is God's.
Luke is God's.

I have always prayed that God would somehow use me to love them.  I need Him in every moment, because I'm just not capable.

I pour everything I have into my children, but it's really not enough.
Only He is enough.

I'm not enough for Drew, Kate, and Luke, and I'm certainly not for Sofi, but God fills in the gaps.

I constantly give my children to Him.

No guts.

This trip around the world. 
The Paperwork.
$45,000.
A public blog.

These things do not come from me.
God always calls us to something bigger than we can handle.

For His Glory.

God's "glory" is not about awe and fame.
God's glory is about more people knowing Him.

My weakness means I need Him.
My weakness means I need others.

And He shows up through others.

The beauty of His glory is the changing of hearts.
God, being God, can do as He pleases,
but how much greater is the One who can change us and work through us.
How much more can He be proven good, than by the reality of people (with free will) choosing His direction and accomplishing His will.

God's plans have brought change in me.
Following God means you can expect sanctification/refinement.
And, you can't purify something without exposing the scum.

My scum surfaces.
Scum of anxiety and impatience.
The guilt of self-reliance.
This process has highlighted many flaws, and I have changed - and I need more change.

I've got NO GUTS on my own, y'all.
None.

I am private and quiet, but my soul wants to scream God's goodness.
I knew immediately that God wanted us to share this story and more.

I am so thankful!
I am thankful for God's presence, love, and provision.
He has spoken it and shown it to me in so many ways.
He has been writing the most beautiful story, and you are in it.
My family, my friends, my church.
God's glory has shown through you!

No guts here, but I do trust Him.
I desperately want Travel Approval next week, so I am praying big prayers.
We are all praying.


This story is ongoing.
I'm changed and changing, but I'm sure I won't have enough guts for our next steps either.
God will be glorified, because all good things come from Him.


But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.  
2 Corinthians 12: 9-10

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. . .
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.   
James 1: 2-5; 16-17

One Piece at a Time

We have been building a 3D globe puzzle for the last few years.
You can see it on our Puzzle Page.
Each piece represents a donation, and it's one of many ways we've been recording some of the support and love people have offered on behalf of Sofi.  One day, I will be able to show her.

Cool fact!
Four days before we received the referral phone call for Sofi, we were given a donation that put the first pieces of China on the globe.  It was just a tiny corner, but it included the city where Sofi's orphanage is located.  After years of pieces, we got to add her piece as we found her.

We have 106 pieces left, which will include Tennessee - home. 
That part of the journey is almost here!!

God has built this adoption story - One piece at a time - and He will complete it.

Currently - 434 pieces

Time to SHOUT!

Remember this post August 2015 - The WALLS WILL CRUMBLE

We are SHOUTING!!!

Seeing and Expecting MIRACLES!

It's time to shout.  We are seeing the walls crumble.  God's promise is ahead. . .  so
Why do I still have the urge to run up and kick a few bricks on my own?!
Why is it so hard to stand still?!

It's okay, my God is patient with me.
He is mighty, and He is accomplishing all He promised.
The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. - 1 Thess. 5:24

Psalm 24

¹ The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it;
² for He founded it on the seas
    and established it on the waters.

³ Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in His holy place?
⁴ The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not trust in an idol
    or swear by a false god.

⁵ They will receive blessing from the Lord
    and vindication from God their Savior.
⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek Him,
    who seek your face, God of Jacob.

⁷ Lift up your heads, you gates;
    be lifted up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
⁸ Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord strong and mighty,
    the Lord mighty in battle.
⁹ Lift up your heads, you gates;
    lift them up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰ Who is he, this King of glory?
    The Lord Almighty—
    He is the King of glory.

 

King of the World

The adoption process is hard core.
From the very beginning it has pulled on my heart and soul in an intense way. 
I've had to learn how to constantly give these emotions and stresses over to God.  (May 2014)

We are so thankful to be in this final stage of bringing our daughter home.
God has revealed His steady presence in the most amazing ways - things we knew in faith have been brought into plain view.
But, this part of the journey feels like the steepest of hills. 
God's faithfulness and sovereignty are all that truly sustain me at this point.
It feels like scaling a cliff with a load too big.

The weight.
The weight of not holding my daughter and wondering if someone is.
The weight of her fragile heart being broken by the confusion and changes in the coming weeks.
The weight of my other three sweet hearts.
The weight of being the mom my kids need - now and coming home.
The weight of papers and papers and approvals.
The weight of "snail mail".
The weight of normal life and no pause button.
The weight of a massive trip with a multitude of details.
The weight of wanting a travel plan, but waiting for the plan. 
The weight of waiting.

I am literally clinging to the sovereignty of God moment by moment.

I am tremendously thankful to finally find our sweet Sofi.
We will have her home soon, and God's faithfulness will shine through.
And, though it is tough to need so much so often, my God is big enough.
Nothing will stand between Him and what He has purposed for our daughter.

God is bigger than government approvals.
God is bigger than costs and payments.
God is bigger than travel itineraries.
God is bigger than this mountain.

God holds Sofi when I can't.
God is healing and will heal.

So, I pray.
I pray and I pray some more.
We all pray.
Please keep praying with us.
Pray for Sofi.
Pray for God to hold her.
Pray for God to bless her with special understanding of love and family.
Pray for sweet dreams of her family that she would even recognize love when she meets us.
Pray for the details. -
The dot-to-dots that connect us from here - to China - to home.

God hears and He answers.  He is sovereign.
He is truly the King of the World!

We Love You Sofi Shu!!

It's kind of hard to describe a story that truly is a dream becoming reality.
Most of this adoption story (the best parts) have been kind of invisible until now.  We have followed God's leading, and we could tell things were happening.  We knew promises would someday be revealed, but it has mostly been steps of faith.
There has been a confidence in our faith, but it's been pretty tough, too.

As we changed to the China program in February 2016, I knew we were close to finding her.  God led us in that direction, and I felt us switch to the fast track.  We moved as quickly as possible, so we would be ready for whatever God had in store.  There were a lot of tough decisions and some strange waits mixed into that paper-chase, but on July 13th we mailed all of our paperwork.

On August 9, we were officially logged-in with China. 
Just waiting.
We knew we most likely had another several months to wait, but honestly I did not feel like it would be.  I really felt like we would have her by Christmas, but I'm always paranoid that my desires are making me feel things.
My spirit became heavier and heavier.  I thought I might be creating this in my mind, but it was so strong I felt like it was bigger than that.  I literally felt like I was filling - and overfilling - like a water balloon.  If God wasn't about to do something, I was a little worried about how I was going to make it much longer.
The week of  September 5th-9th was the craziest build up I have ever experienced.  I don't have words for it, but my spirit was intense.
So, Friday, September 9th. 
It was a regular day, but I did not feel normal. 
Reality said we would wait a while, but it didn't feel like it.  I was wearing my "Transforming Love" adoption shirt, sitting at my desk near the end of lunch break. 
My phone rang.
It said "America World".
My heart stopped.
Our agency had called Kevin first, but he couldn't talk at that moment.
They called me.
The water balloon busted.  I cried and cried and tried to listen to every word.
I took notes.
She told me about a two-year-old girl.
She described some basics and mentioned that I might have seen her picture that they had shared previously.
----REWIND----
On July 13th, the day we took our paperwork to the post office,  I saw a precious face on a post from America World.  We had just finished mailing our package.  I was in my car, and there it was. 
This little girl's picture made my heart stop.  Our agency shares pictures all the time, and each one tugs at your heart.  This time my heart stopped.
I saved her picture in my phone.
----FASTFORWARD----
She tells me I might remember this little girl's picture, and she says the name that labeled that pic.
I knew immediately.
It was her.
Sobbing and sobbing.

She asked if I wanted to receive the referral in an email.
YES!

So,
Thankfully, this was a time in the day, when I did not have a class.
I immediately headed next door to the high school to find Kevin.
I'm crying, walking down those big steps, holding a laptop to get the email, thumbing through my pictures to find that pic I saved.

I knew it was her.




















I walked and felt every promise coming true.

We read her file in shock and thankfulness.
It was so much to take in, and we had to take a serious look at her file and medical reports.



Then, we began a series of steps to make it all happen.

As we sifted through the details, we found her birth date was in November 2013.
We did the math and realized we had been praying for her since her tiniest beginning.
There was a very definitive day in February 2013 when Kevin knew we should adopt.  God called him that day, and He was very literally placing this sweet girl in our family that day.
God has such an extravagant love.
He placed Sofi in our hearts, knowing she would be ours.
It resonates even deeper that the scripture that Kevin was impacted by that day was Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you..." 
That scripture has been framed by our bed, and now there is a picture in its place.

Why?  Why weave us together for 3 1/2 years, a world apart?
First of all, because no one else is capable of this level of tapestry.  Who, but God can weave stories over space and time in such intricate ways.
Also, He knew that was the best moment for our family to come to that decision.  The journey has blessed us and taught us in amazing ways.
And, very importantly, God intended for Sofi to be covered in our love and prayers.  We don't fully realize the importance and power of prayer.  Over time, we understand better and better, but prayer is God's will.  We are invited to prayer, and we are called to prayer.  God can work all things on His own without us, and He does at His choosing.  But, in His wisdom, has purposed us to spread His love to each other.  We are to pray for each other.  We are to spread the Gospel.  We are to love and care.  Literally, He has intended for us to be the route of His love and power into the world - a blessing and a responsibility. 
The Holy Spirit will lead us to pray for each other, even in times we don't understand.
--More about that in a moment --

So, after we received her referral, we continued the process by submitting a Letter of Intent (a request to China for her adoption) and then we waited for the Letter of Acceptance from China.

In the meantime, we received an updated picture and a few more details.

Our sweet girl had a cleft lip/palate surgery, and we had asked for the date and further info about the surgery.
----REWIND----
This post in May 2015.
I was overcome at that time with a very specific need to pray for our little girl.  We have done A LOT of praying the last few years, some really big praying, but this day was different.  I knew I was praying for something in particular, but I didn't know what it could be. 
I documented it on the blog, because I hoped to find out one day how our lives matched up.
----FAST FORWARD----
Yep, that was the day.
That was the exact day of her surgery.
I prayed for our daughter through her surgery.

God has blessed us with some special confirmations of His promises.
He is so faithful.
His Love is so big.

We received our Letter of Acceptance, and now we are just in process to make it all legal and official.

Her Chinese name is Shu He.
We have decided to name her Sofi Shu.
Sofi means "wisdom".  It's a short, four-letter name like our other kids.
Shu means "good, pure, virtuous"

This is only the beginning of Sofi's beautiful life.
She is loved by a great God, and we can't wait to bring her into all the love we have been saving for her. 
You are part of that.  You are part of this journey. 
Your prayers and your love have been a part of God's plan for Sofi.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OUR DAUGHTER!!!!
We finally got the call!!
Today, we can announce that we have been approved to adopt this beautiful girl!!!

Our first picture

 

Most recent picture

We got the phone call with her referral on Friday, September 9th. 

We already have so many stories of miracles God has been working,
but just an introduction for now.
Isn't she amazing!!!!
Thank you for all the prayers over the past 3 1/2 years!

The Father's Love

Scripture explains our relationship with God in so many ways.
And, it's simply amazing that GOD wants a relationship with us.
He uses analogies of relationships and our own daily experiences to give us a glimpse - an invitation - into the relationship He desires to have with us.

Adoption is used multiple times in scripture - but not as an analogy.
We are actually made sons and daughters through the gift of salvation in Jesus.

In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. - Ephesians 1:5

And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. - Romans 8:17

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. -
Romans 3:22-24

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit.  - Ephesians 1:13

We are justified by grace - which "legally" makes it possible to be adopted.  Jesus' payment for our sins makes us righteous - which makes it possible for us to join God's family.
Adopted as sons and heirs is true, not just an image.  We become children of God, chosen and loved by the King.
Sealed with the Holy Spirit is like our new last name.  We are claimed and labeled as God's children.


This journey through the adoption process has strengthened my understanding of God's love in so many ways.  There are so many correlations to the choosing, the transforming, and the new hope that God offers for each of us.

God has also been revealing a depth of Jesus' life that I never understood as completely before. . .
---------
As we anticipate bringing home our little girl, I am increasingly thankful that she will have brothers and a sister.  She will instantly have a family.
Family.
Something she needs deeply and desperately, but doesn't know it.
She doesn't even understand it.  She has no frame of reference for Mom and Dad.
She has needed someone to provide.  She knows someone must bring basic care, but Mom and Dad are so much more.
Family cannot be replaced by a facility with caretakers.
She needs a family and doesn't even know it.

In the beginning, she will likely turn away the help she doesn't understand.
She will possibly fight against the love she is offered.
But, love never fails.
(You can feel the correlations to our response to the love that God is offering.)

Drew, Kate, and Luke will be the beautiful interpreters of love.
They know how to give and receive.
They know Mom and Dad will provide.
They know Mom and Dad will not leave.
They know the meaning of family.
Our little girl will see what it means to be a daughter.
She will know that she can call on Daddy
And he will come.

She will know love.
The love of a family, because she can gain a special trust, even quicker, by the example her brothers and sister can give her.
--------
Jesus.
Son of God.
He spoke about the Kingdom of God.
He spoke about the Love we never really understood.
He told us about a God who pursues us.
He showed us what it means to say "Our Father."
Then, He made it possible.
He made it legal.
Adopted - Each of us can be.

Jesus taught us how to listen to God, how to talk to God, and how to walk in obedience to God in a brand new way - as a son.
Conversation with and obedience to a Father.

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
 He said to them,  
"When you pray, say:

‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come. 

Give us each day our daily bread. 

Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?  Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
 Luke 11:1-4; 9-13


Jesus, the Son of God, taught us how to receive the Father's Love.

My Mind Swirls

My mind tends to swirl with life and logistics and dreams.  It's my personality.  I have a hard time narrowing down to one thing at a time. 
The intensity of my angst and hope for our adoption surfaces the most right now.  It's sort of like the last trimester of pregnancy, when you know you still have to function like a normal person and do normal things, but all you feel like doing is dreaming and praying and protecting - and worrying.

It's consuming.

I'm a person of projects.  Sometimes it helps to spill some of it out into the tangible.
So, I spilled a little into a video.  It sort of replays pieces of our waiting.
This song brings up images in my mind, so I tried to put them into a project.
(There will be a sequel when the time comes.)

One Step Closer - The First Thousand Years


------------------------------------------------------

LID - One step closer

Our agency sent our dossier of adoption paperwork Friday, August 5th.

We tracked the package all weekend.

It was delivered at 9:12pm (our time) Sunday night - just as we began our family prayer time. :)

Today, we found out our official Log In Date (LID) with the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption is 8/9/16.

That is an important date in this process.
Now, that all of our approved paperwork is logged in, we have completed all the preliminary work we can.   The LID is also one of the ways we are "ranked" or "labeled" on the waiting list.

The next step will be a referral - We will get a phone call from our agency.  They will call us to discuss a child, and then follow up with an email including all the pics and records they have.
We will then officially request to adopt the child.

At that point, we will complete paperwork to specifically adopt her and prepare to travel.

We will travel 2-3 months after the referral.

The time frame now is very hard to predict.  There are so many variables it's difficult to know when we might receive a referral.
Some of the variables:
   -Waiting Child Program Acceptance - (ours was 4/1/16)
   -LID  - (8/9/16)
   -Timing and number of children whose files are ready for adoption
   -Waiting Child Program - special needs program which means children
          are also matched based on severity/type of special needs

Prayer sustains us through the unknown, because God is sovereign.  I am so thankful that I can put all the details, the worry, and our sweet girl in His hands.
I am so ready to hold her and protect her.  God is holding her now, and He will bring her to our arms.
Trusting Him is my only peace.

Thank you for your prayers!
One step closer.
  

DTC!

All of our paperwork is flying to China!!!!

This is amazing news.  This is the final step  - for the waiting part of the journey.

Dossier to China (DTC)

Our dossier of paperwork will be "logged in" with the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA).   We will receive an official Log in Date (LID) from them.


NEXT - We wait for a phone call from our agency with a referral.  The call could be any day, but we expect it to be within the next several months.  It will take about 2-3 months for that next stage of paperwork, and then we will fly to China to bring her home.  (I'm excited just typing those words!)

We have her bed ready to go, right next to her big sister.
We want to be ready, plus help prepare our whole family for the many upcoming transitions.




You can also see many of the little items we have been collecting for her over the last few years.













Including the cross we have always held during our family prayer time.
It's been even more special to kneel at her bed as we pray.





 







"Little Sis"







Please continue to pray for God to take care of all the big and little details of this process.
Even as big as our love for our little girl is, I know God's love is even bigger.  He wants her home with us even more than we do.  I know He is at work, and we continue to see evidence of His presence.

Please continue to pray for our sweet little girl.

I've tried to put words to this process, but I just don't have adequate words for all I see and feel.
We serve an amazing God.

I don't have words that can adequately thank you.  Thank you for reading this.  Thank you for the kind words, and thoughtful questions.  Thank you for the smiles and "likes".  Thank you for the blessing of donations.   
Thank you for the prayers!!  Nothing compares to the prayers.

Our Promise

Drew and Kate have been looking for the end of the rainbow.

They have determined that the best treasure is there...
our sweet little sister.

We have had a lot of rainbows over the last several months.  They have become a very personal sign of hope and promise for us.

God loves to whisper hope to us.
He is so faithful to His promises.

Today, we found it.

A complete rainbow with both ends - right in our yard.
Our whole family stood on the porch and knew He was speaking.

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.  -Deut. 7:9



The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. -
1 Thessalonians 5:24





 

Dossier for China!

  
We prayed over it Tuesday!

We mailed it Wednesday!










Our dossier arrived at our agency today!

This dossier is the collection of documents we have been compiling for the last four months.  It will represent our family in China during this process. 


Our agency will process it through the U.S. State Department and Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C.

Then, they will send it to China.

Once it arrives in China, we are fully available/eligible to be matched with a little girl.

We expect to be matched within the next several months, but it could literally be any day.

Thank you for all the prayers you have lifted up for our family!! 
God has truly been working in this process, and we are thankful for all He has done and will do. 
We can't wait to see all He is about to do!
We are ready for our sweet little girl to experience all of this love!

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope, for He who promised is faithful. - Hebrews 10:23

The Lord's purpose will prevail.

Well, I want to drop a little update and ask for prayers.
Adoption paperwork has a very unique stress.
Details, timelines, personal info and evaluation
And, every completed step must line up in a certain way in a certain time frame.  Even one glitch can set you back weeks (and weeks feel like years).
We have actually been in an unforeseen delay the last few weeks.  An error from U.S. Immigration created some issues that have set us back.  Waiting is hard, but the added worry of an error is even more unsettling.  In the grand scheme of it all, not massive, but it's definitely a current stress as we move closer to some deadlines. 
We are so anxious to complete our Dossier of paperwork and send it to China.

So, two things:
1.  The "unforeseen" descriptor above is from my perspective.
God knows every detail.  He's never fazed, and He's been holding me close.  My planning mode shifts to worry very quickly, so I am constantly seeking Him.  He is quick to comfort, and His presence and Word are the only things that keep me from panic. (not exaggerating)
This is a pic of the calendar over my desk.  I erased it.
I erased the numbers and appointments that were staring me in the face, and I replaced them with Proverbs 19:21.

"You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail."  Proverbs 19:21








Scripture is powerful.  God's promises are true.  My God is sovereign in this process and in all things.  I believe it, and I cling to it.
Timing is a HUGE piece in the adoption process, and "The Lord's purpose will prevail."

2.  Please pray with us and for us.  Prayer is powerful, and we need it.  Our little girl needs it as she waits for us.  Thank you for praying!!

Thank you for praying with us, supporting us, and being a part of our journey.

Full Speed Ahead!

In the last 6 days, we've had 6 adoption-related appointments along with multiple adoption paperwork errands.
We are only 3 documents away!!!
Then, we will apply to USCIS for the final piece.

Tonight I submitted an application that will put us on the waiting list even before our dossier is complete.  (This is huge)

It's been a major week for our process, combined with some great
family time.
Thankful doesn't even begin to explain how I feel.
Thank you again for all the prayers!!! Please keep praying!

We are so close.  I don't know exactly how close, but close.
One step closer to our little beauty.
Full speed ahead!

Hope is Blooming

I placed little pieces of hope in the ground
after I wrote this post last fall.

I covered them up
believing - trusting - knowing
that God is at work.








Winter brought a lot of change.  We started to see things that only God knew would come.
God began to give us a glimpse of things to come...

...at just the right time.
in just the right season.







We will be with our little beauty so much faster than seemed possible just weeks ago.
Years of waiting have turned to months,
                  and I can feel the promise emerging.

Today, we had the home visit for our new home study.
We are on a steady course to China.

We are praying for wisdom and peace as we complete our dossier to send to China and prepare for our little daughter.
Her beauty already blooms in my heart.

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, 
for He who promised is faithful."
Hebrews 10:23

We Wait on the Lord.

Adoption is hard.
Nothing profound in that statement.  It's just true.
Exactly three years ago, we made the decision to start the adoption process.  God was speaking and moving strongly in our hearts.
Then the process began.

All we wanted to do was go scoop up a little child and love her forever.
But, it doesn't exactly work like that.

We began a process of research, choices, and decisions.  Choices and decisions?  It's so hard.  There's a big, wide world, and we will gladly bring each and every orphan home.  But, there are decisions.

1. Find an agency
(I have been very thankful for ours - America World Adoption)
2. Narrow to one country.
Well, that's actually easier than it sounds, because only some countries even have international adoption.  The ones that do also have guidelines/requirements.  We don't even qualify for some places.

So, our choice easily went to Ethiopia, and we quickly fell in love.  We soaked up every bit of info we could over the last few years.
The world has become much smaller than it seemed before.

We've tried to share our journey and keep everyone informed along the way.  At the beginning, we expected to be home and settled with our sweet girl by now.  Lots of things have changed within their government, and after so many changes, our wait is not even half over.

We cling to God and His direction and providence in all these steps, big and small.  Although the wait is terribly difficult, we have been staying on course unless God leads us otherwise.

Over the last couple of months, God has been speaking to me about our wait.
"You don't wait on a list. You wait on the Lord.  Wait on me."
The words of Isaiah 40:31 resonate in my spirit.
It is true, when you wait on the Lord, you do not grow weary.  He does renew your strength.  You do rise above the circumstance and hold a different view of your path.
I thought God was assuring me that He was in control despite the wait.  The logistics of a waiting list or legal process fall far beneath His power and sovereignty.

We wait on the Lord.

Another change in Ethiopia.

The government is considering a proposal for some very strict changes to the adoption process, especially international adoptions.  With these new regulations, our family will no longer be eligible to adopt.
It's difficult news, and it breaks my heart for all the children who are already waiting too long.
There are no words.

Other countries have done similar things, and some have closed adoptions completely.
Adoption is a risky path to walk.

We wait on the Lord.

We prayed.  We needed to make a decision.
It's time for some big updates in our process.  We needed to choose our course.

Again, the choices are quite narrow.

We could go in a few different directions, so we prayed.

God has led us to China.

Our agency is allowing transfers to the China program, because China has actually made their qualifications more attainable.
The world keeps getting smaller.  :)

This week we began our paperwork process for China.

There are a lot of emotions in this change, because we have developed a special attachment to Ethiopia.  I feel confident God will continue to use these connections we've made to ministries and communities in Ethiopia.  I know He has a purpose for that.

We wait on the Lord.
Without Him, it looks like we had a detour.  With Him, we can see His hand guiding us on a course that is steady and straight.

China.  I'm falling in love fast!
We've told Drew and Kate, and Luke has already been yelling "China, China, China".
It's hard to explain things that don't actually make sense, but Drew and Kate have been amazing through this entire process.
First of all, you have to realize that our little girl is already a member of our family.  She is a part of our conversations DAILY.  We plan for her, dream of her, and have lots of drawings of her. :)

We explained the change to Drew and Kate.  After some questions, they started getting excited about China.
Then, Drew asked, "What about the little girl in Ethiopia?"
Great question.
We are still waiting for the same little girl.
We began this process and started praying for the girl we would adopt.  God has heard every prayer, and even though we don't know who or exactly where she is, God does.  We began our journey planning for Ethiopia, but God knew that it would change.  God knows how this will all end.
God knows our sweet girl. Even before she was born He knew her. (Jeremiah 1:5)
We have been praying.  God has been answering.  We thought she was in Ethiopia, but she's not.  God always knew that.  He's not surprised.

Please keep praying for our family.
We have been on a journey to our sweet girl for three years, and we won't stop until we can scoop her up and love her forever!

"I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
    and in His word I put my hope."  - Psalm 130:5